In April 2013, Amy Bleuel took to social media with an idea. Anyone who had ever struggled with a mental illness would draw a semicolon on their wrist and post a photo. A semicolon symbolized that a sentence wasn’t over yet, and neither was their life.

The tagline was: Your story isn’t over. Since then, millions have shared photos of semicolons on their bodies, both drawn and permanently tattooed, as part of a burgeoning effort to erase the societal shame long associated with mental health.

“People want to know they’re not suffering in silence, you feel alone like no one cares, to know someone is there, that is what these people go forth with, they take this energy to better themselves,” Bleuel said. “I think it’s just opening the minds of society. I would hope through my stories and platforms that they would see these are everyday people, just like you, and they’re attempting to make their lives better, but here is what they struggle with.”

“I wanted to start a conversation that can’t be stopped,” she said, “and I believe I’ve done that.”

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